Community Grants Programme

See below timetable of key activities:

Grants given to local organisations will need to support one or more of the Council Strategy’s main priorities:

Climate Change and the Environment

• • CE1. Tackle the Climate Emergency – We will update our Climate Change Strategy and action plan to deliver change that will lead towards our goal to be a carbon neutral district
  • CE2. Countryside and Biodiversity – We will work with local communities and partners to protect and enhance the district’s green infrastructure and biodiversity.
  • CE3. Active Travel & Sustainable Transport – We will work with our county and regional partners to support development of an integrated transport network, prioritising walking, cycling, public transport and electric charging infrastructure.

Community Resilience & Wellbeing 

• Community resilience – We will work alongside communities and partners to help build resilience in our communities through a network of community associations and other community-led networks, with mental and physical health and wellbeing at the heart.
• Leisure and Culture Services – We will foster social connection and community cohesion for young people and people of all ages via a long-term plan for leisure and cultural services and facilities, ensuring everyone has access to good quality leisure and cultural opportunities that support physical, social and mental wellbeing.
• Equality, diversity and inclusion- We will embed equality, diversity and inclusion as a priority across the Council and the district with targeted support for those who experience the most disadvantage in our communities.

For further information on the Council’s Strategy, go to: https://www.wealden.gov.uk/wealdens-policies-and-plans/council-strategy/

• Not for Profit Organisations
• Charities
• Community and Voluntary Groups
• Community Interest Companies

These revenue grants are required to support organisations with providing a charitable or community service or programmes that benefit residents of the Wealden District area.

Funding can be used for:

• Setting up a new project or maintain delivery of an existing project/or service.
• Increased activity to meet demand.
• Programme or activity costs which are directly relevant to the application projects or activities, which may include:
• Staffing costs/Volunteer expenses
• Project/programme delivery costs
• Training costs
• Running costs (for example, insurance, rent, utilities)
• Transport costs

• Projects and services must be delivered within the Wealden District and/or support Wealden residents.
• All applications need to clearly demonstrate that all costs applied for are directly attributable to the delivery of a project or service.
• Have legibly completed all relevant questions in the application form. Only information visible on forms will be taken into consideration.
• Ensure the application form and supporting documentation is received by the stated deadline.
• Projects or activities that benefit just one or two town or parish areas must provide evidence that they have approached the appropriate Town and Parish Councils for a contribution towards the project.

• Individuals and any organisations not listed within ‘Who can apply?’ section.
• Projects or services that do not support Wealden residents.
• Retrospective work – services and projects that has already taken place before any grant has been awarded.
• Grants will not be awarded to purchase land and buildings, or for council tax, endowments, loan payments, vehicles, foreign trips or for appeals/charities set up to support statutory bodies (e.g. hospital “Friends” groups)
• Capital costs
• Projects which generate private gain or profit making.
• Grants cannot be made to individuals or for items which only benefit an individual, such as prizes, bursaries or personal equipment.
• Projects that are already funded through external funding e.g. government funding. Grants cannot be used for any other purpose than that specified on the application.
• The grant will not pay for fundraising activities, volunteer recruitment or advertising costs – we can signpost you to free opportunities for advertising or promoting your services.
• Grants cannot be used for activities promoting religious or political beliefs. However, we welcome applications from faith groups for community activities that are open to the whole community, regardless of religion.

Organisations are required to put in match funding (in-kind and/or cash) towards the project or service they are applying for funding.

We will expect organisations to contribute the same level or more match funding against the funds they are asking the Council.

Match funding helps to ensure that many different organisations as possible will be able to benefit from this fund.

Example: If you are asking for £10,000 of funding from the Council, you will need a minimum of £10,000 (50%) match funding from other sources.

Organisations should have all their cash match funding in place / secured when applying to the programme, to reduce the risk of project delivery falling through.

‘In Kind Match Funding’ shows the financial value of your project rather than a financial contribution. Most voluntary and community projects have a higher value than the expenses they pay for in cash. Some common types of ‘In Kind Match Funding’ includes:

• value of the time put in by volunteers (General volunteer time can be costed at £15 an hour. Any professional time/ advice that is provided for free towards the project can be costed at a commercial rate – for example, if your annual accounts are done for free by a local accountant who would normally charge £250, then you have £250 of “in-kind” funding for that element).
• normal cost of hiring premises that you have secured for free, normal cost of hiring premises that you have secured for free,
• discounts you have negotiated because you are a local club (i.e., the value of the discount),
• volunteer coaches, guide and scout leaders, management committee time, volunteer grounds maintenance, the value of any donated materials or equipment, the value of any discount you have negotiated on materials or labour.

For further clarity on national average rates, please look on the ONS website for guidance: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/grossweeklyearningsbyoccupationearn06

Please see below example given on how to complete section four ‘Financial Breakdown’ within the application form:

Project Costs and Financials

Please complete the below section to outline your project costs:

Project Cost Breakdown

Please detail each element of your project. Costs should exclude VAT if the organisation is VAT registered; gross costs are acceptable if the organisation is not VAT registered. Add more lines if required.

Match Funding Breakdown

Box B amount must not be less than the total amount you are requesting from us (stated in Box A).

Please note, applications where match funding is not confirmed by the time of grant panel taking place may not be taken to panel for consideration. If you wish to discuss acceptable sources of match funding, please contact communitygrants@wealden.gov.uk.

The UK is subject to a new statutory Subsidy Control regime, which came into force on 4 January 2023. This regime is largely based on the requirements set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the “Act”).

Assessment of Your Application

As part of the assessment of your application, we need to determine whether the grant constitutes a ‘Subsidy’ under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. If a Subsidy is identified, it will be necessary to follow one of the routes prescribed in the Act for the award of compliant Subsidies.

Assistance and Additional Information

We may request your assistance in assessing the Subsidy and determining the appropriate route for making an award. If additional information is required, we will contact you and we will need this information as soon as possible.

If an applicant is successful in securing a grant, a Grant Agreement will be sent to the organisation which will need to be signed by hand, by the organisation and sent back to us for execution and completion on behalf of the Council before we can release the funds. The Grant Agreement will include Terms and Conditions to ensure the grant award and project delivery meets Wealden District Council’s requirements.

The Grant Agreement must be signed within 4 weeks of issue.

Payments will be sent beginning of each quarter for a period of three years.

If your application is successful, we will ask you to complete quarterly monitoring reports and complete an annual report to track progress on outcomes.

Further support on how to collect this data can be provided, if required at a later date.

Before you get started – You must be able to answer yes to all to the following:

Before you get started – Please answer the following to confirm you have the required documents:

All information relevant to your project must be submitted with your application by the deadline as we may not be able to ask for any further clarification due to the expected volume of applications received.

You may send the application and all supporting paperwork via email. This is our preference, however, if you send any hard copies, please inform the Partnership and Funding Officer via email that you plan to do this. Please do not staple or bind any part of the application form or supporting information. Please ensure you retain a copy of the whole application form for your records.

Please contact the Partnerships and Funding Support Officer via communitygrants@wealden.gov.uk.

If your application is successful, any award of grant will be subject to your organisation entering into a grant funding agreement with the Council. The grant funding agreement will contain terms and conditions including but not limited to those set out below.

Use, Purpose and Payment of Grant:

1. You shall use the grant for the purposes set out in this application only (‘the Project’) and in accordance with these terms and conditions and any further conditions contained in the Council’s offer letter and/or grant agreement. The offer letter will explain if the Council want the organisation to alter any part of this application or impose any separate conditions of grant.
2. You shall not make any significant change to what you use the grant for or how we spend it without the Council’s prior written consent.
3. You shall not, at any time, sell or dispose of any equipment or other assets purchased with a grant without the Council’s prior written agreement. If we sell or dispose of the equipment or assets, with or without the Council’s permission, we may be required by the Council to pay them a share of the proceeds of sale in direct proportion to the share of the project cost originally met by the Council.
4. The grant from the Council cannot be used to pay for expenditure incurred or committed prior to the date of the offer letter.
5. You shall not apply for duplicate funding for the Project which the Council is funding under this agreement. If you obtain funding from another source, you will inform the Council immediately. You understand that you may need to repay all or part of the grant in these circumstances.
6. The grant must be spent or committed within the period (1st April 2025 – 31st March 2028) for which it is awarded (“the Grant Period”).
7. If you do not spend the entire grant by the end of the Grant Period, we shall promptly return any unspent monies to the Council.
8. You understand the grant will not be increased in the event of any overspend.
9. You shall promptly repay to the Council any money incorrectly paid to it either as a result of an administrative error or otherwise. This includes, but is not limited to, situations where either an incorrect sum of money has been paid or where grant monies have been paid in error before all conditions attaching to the grant have been complied with by the organisation.

Acknowledgment and Publicity:

10. You shall acknowledge the Council’s grant in your annual report, your Chairperson’s or Secretary’s report at your AGM, the accounts which will cover the Grant Period, and in any publicity materials you produce about the work supported by the grant. You will supply copies of these documents to the Council on request.
11. The Council may use your name and the name of our project in its own publicity materials and you will inform the Council of situations where confidentiality is a particular issue.
12. If successful, the applicant will install in a permanent place at the site of the project a plaque of a size of at least 250x200mm and in such form as is specified by Council to advertise the grant contribution to the project and the applicant is responsible for securing such consents as may be required to do so.

Monitoring and Reporting:

13. You shall closely monitor the delivery and success of the Project throughout the Grant Period to ensure that the aims and objective of the Project are being met and that this agreement is being adhered to.
14. You shall keep the Council informed of the Projects progress and will complete and return all necessary documentation required as part of the grants process including the quarterly monitoring reports.
15. You shall not change your constitution as regards its purposes, payment to members of the governing body, distribution of assets or admission of members without the Council’s prior written consent.
16. You shall promptly inform the Council of any changes to your Bank or Building Society account.
17. You shall comply with any relevant legislation affecting the way you carry out your Project.

Accounts and Records:

18. You shall keep all financial records and accounts, including receipts for items purchased with the grant, for at least two years from final payment of the grant. You will make these available to the Council on request. You understand that this does not release you from our statutory obligations to keep your records for longer periods.
19. Grants will not be awarded to organisations that have large unrestricted balances available for them to spend – if a balance is ‘restricted’ for a particular purpose, e.g. you are saving for a building or piece of equipment, you should clearly indicate this in your application.

Withholding, Suspending and Repayment of Grant:

20. On awarding a grant, the Council’s intention is that the grant will be paid to you in full. However, without prejudice to the Council’s other rights and remedies, the Council may at its sole discretion withhold or suspend payment of a grant and/or require repayment of all or part of the grant in the following circumstances:

a. you use the grant for purposes other than those for which they have been awarded;

b. you fair to comply with any of the terms and conditions set out in this grant funding agreement

c. you obtain duplicate funding from a third party for the Project;

d. you provide the Council with incorrect or misleading information or completes the application form or supporting documentation dishonestly;

e. any member of the governing body, employee or volunteer of the Organisation has:

(i) acted dishonestly or negligently at any time and directly or indirectly to the detriment of the Project; or

(ii) taken any actions which, in the reasonable opinion of the Council, bring or are likely to bring the Council’s name or reputation into disrepute; or

f. the Organisation ceases to operate for any reason, is dissolved, insolvent, or put into administration, receivership or liquidation (sequestration), or a petition has been presented for its winding up, or it enters into any arrangement or composition for the benefit of its creditors, or is unable to pay its debts as they fall due.

      21.   If the Organisation is dissolved, we shall propose a solution relating to the disposal of equipment or assets to the Council subject to their consent.